I was at a baseball practice a few days ago and another mom asked me, "how do you do things with 4 kids?" I sat there and looked at her for a moment and asked "I just do." To the outside world I must look like a crazy person with 4 kids. That is definately not the norm in this day and time.
It is amazing that if we sit down and write down all that we do in a single given day, it is overwhelming to see all that is jotted down on paper. Whether you are a stay at home mom, work at home mom or work outside out of the house, our jobs are not easy to say the least. Most dad's step back and let us take over.
I am very fortunate that I have a husband with a great job and we can pay the bills every month. I am classifying myself as a "work from home mom." I start the day with making lunches, feeding my 16 month old, getting the kids to the bus stop, 3 days a week helping out with babysitting my niece for a few hours a day, answering and scheduling appointments for a 4d ultrasound studio 3 days a week, running 2 websites and still trying to do the normal mom jobs around the house and at the grocery store. This doesn't include all the running around to ball practice and games for 3 kids.
So you are probably wondering, is this lady on some kind of medicine to keep her going?? Some days I do feel like I have to much on my mind to wind down. A glass of wine always helps!
I feel as moms we are givers and hardly take in return. We do have a job that gets little gratitude while our kids are young. We are very lucky to have had the opportunity to have children. Some days we might want to give them back for a while, but we do keep them as ours.
I have found that writing things done helps. I always feel good to check things off my list no matter how big or small the task is. When i see a long "to do" list, I do get overwhelmed and find myself doing the things that take the least amount of time. It may not show in the house, but I know that things were completed.
If you are feeling the stress of motherhood like myself, just know that you are not a lone. We have 18 short years to give to our kids, we do need to treasure them. In the long run it really doesn't matter how clean your house is, just knowing that you are there for your children and family is what matters most!